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Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Miami Hurricane's rebounded to a 45-14 victory against Bethune-Cookman to become 2-2 on the year. Although at times, especially during the first half, the Hurricane's looked flat--in fact, they were plain dismal. This team clearly needs to tweak a few things, but with the return of Ray Ray Armstrong next week, he should definitely (well, hopefully) help out our lackluster defense.

The Hurricane's trailed Bethune 7-0 with the end of the first quarter--quite the embarrassing start. Fans expected a blowout, not another nail biter. If it wasn't for a forced fumble caused by the "U" or Bethune pushing a field goal, we would have certainly trailed. Travis Benjamin continued to excel on punt return duty and was just shy of taking one to the house. Instead he set up a first and goal where Lamar Miller would even the score.

However, this team needs to start performing during the first half. They cannot wait until the second half to start making their move, especially with Virginia Tech looming around the corner. Tech is a team that can run the score up on the 'Canes during the first half, making it nearly impossible for a comeback. Just an f.y.i. for ya Golden--get these guys motivated. It is still hard to figure out which 'Canes team will decide to show up.

Secondly, congratulations to Jacory Harris for FINALLY playing an interception-free game. In ten of the last eleven games Harris threw at least one interception. Nice to see a big zero next to his interception stat. Harris and wideout Tommy Streeter connected twice in the end zone, one going for 56 yards. Streeter had two catches for 83 yards on the day. I have been saying from the get-go that Streeter needs to be the go to guy--no offense Hurns. Hopefully this performance will boost both Streeter and Jacory's confidence going into Blacksburg.

As far as the defense is concerned, did we really have seven sacks on the day? I was kind of puzzled when I first saw that stat. On the flip-side, we are still not tackling as effectively as we should be. How much more of an emphasis can the coaches put on wrapping up? Cookman was able to rush just shy of 100 yards. Unacceptable. And as for Jimmy Gaines--Golden, time to start Kelvin Cain. In fact, bench Robinson and Futch. I want to see more of Paul and Perryman--especially Perryman. That kid is an ox. Speaking of Cain, he had a nice pick 6 in the fourth. Chickillo continued to impress. He is going to be something special.

Lamar Miller had another 100 yard rushing day--just like he should have. Mike James was out of commission today allowing third string running back Eduardo Clements to showcase his talent. Why is Clements under James? In my most humble opinion, Clements should be out there backing up Miller. Dude can fly! Congrats on getting your first career touchdown big guy.

Furthermore, Miami still needs a lot of work--especially going into Blacksburg. Golden better get these guys ready. Especially the seniors. Why are they still playing like Randy Shannon is on the sideline? These are the guys that you want mentoring the newcomers. Hell, it looked like the freshmen played with more heart than some of our older guys. And if this defense continues to miss tackles and turn the ball over, well, it's going to be a long game at Virginia Tech.